BARBER: Family Dynamics Key to New-Look Dukes Building on Success

BY MIKE BARBER
JMUSports.com correspondent

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Preston Spradlin wants his James Madison basketball team to be a family. That's how he built a championship program at Morehead State and how he envisions keeping the Dukes among the nation's elite mid-majors.

And nothing brings families together quite like meal time.

So, as Spradlin and his staff got to know their new players, they shared a lot of dinners. Sometimes they gathered at the coach's house, other times they dined at local restaurants. Sometimes the entire team would get together to entertain recruits, other times Spradlin would grill for smaller groups of players.

"He makes sure we eat good," sophomore forward Eddie Ricks III said this week.

The food, of course, is secondary. What the meals really afford the Dukes is the chance to get to know each other, to build chemistry on a reworked roster that opens its first season under Spradlin on Monday against Ohio, the preseason favorite in the MAC.

JMU returns just one player who averaged over five minutes per game last year in junior guard Xavier Brown.

The top seven scorers from last season's Sun Belt champions have moved on. Spradlin rebuilt the program through the NCAA transfer portal, bringing in 11 transfers.

So, how quickly he can blend all the new individuals into a cohesive unit will go a long way to determining how successful his debut campaign with the Dukes will be.

"We pride ourselves on spending more time with our players and more time together as a team than anyone we know of," Spradlin said. "Getting to know them as people. That's a big part of our mission and what we do."

Spradlin isn't doing that alone. Assistant coaches Scott Combs, Dominic Lombardi and Cason Burk followed him from Morehead, as did a trio of his players – Ricks, senior guard Mark Freeman and redshirt freshman forward Matt Hain.

Freeman spent two years at Morehead after playing a season at Illinois State and two at Tennessee State.

Ricks averaged 7.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last year as a freshman at Morehead. Hain, an Australian, redshirted with the Eagles last year, learning Spradlin's style and system.

"Been with him, this will be my third year," said Freeman, the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference player of the year who missed last season with a wrist injury. "I know what he wants, how he wants it, the pace he wants it. It's a good thing to have on our team, someone who's familiar with Coach P's style."

That group of Morehead imports can offer their new teammates insight into how Spradlin manages his program, how he runs practices and his general likes and dislikes.

"Everything is so new to everyone – how we practice, our terminology, the cultural things," said Spradlin, who guided the Eagles to pair of NCAA tournament appearances and won over 20 games each of the past four seasons. "If you have a couple guys who can jump out there and demonstrate not necessarily just the skill you're working on or the drill, but how to respond. The effort level we go with, how to compete every single day. Being able to bring those guys here was incredibly valuable because it certainly gave us a great starting point as we were starting and building the culture here with so many new players."

For Spradlin, while building personal bonds with his players has been paramount, learning their skill sets has been an important pursuit as he adjusts his x's and o's to suit his new roster.

To do that, Spradlin and his staff have pored over video of the players. That process started, with the newcomers, during their recruitment.

It's continued since the team has assembled in Harrisonburg, with coaches and players

"What are their strengths? How were they used at their last school?" Spradlin said. "What things were good? What things were not good."

As he approaches Monday's opener, Spradlin believes he has a deep and versatile roster, one buoyed by electric guards and versatile wings. As he did at Morehead, he's emphasizing offensive efficiency and rebounding. But with such a wealth of talented pieces, Spradlin also plans to have his Dukes push the pace, "play offense for 94 feet," he said.

Spradlin believes transition offense can be JMU's "calling card."

"We want to make sure we're still playing good, efficient basketball. Our assist to turnover ratio, our assist to field goal makes needs to be really high. Our offensive rebounding percentage," Spradlin said. "But if we can have a few more fresh bodies out there because of our depth, it gives you the opportunity to play a little faster."

The myriad pieces he'll have at his disposal this year has Spradlin confident his team will be able to play different styles of games depending on matchups, even changing lineups night to night based on the opponent.

"This team is really talented and we have a deep roster," Brown said. "A lot of guys can have their night on any night. I have 11 guys, 12 guys I can count on when they're on the floor. I've never had that. That's special. Whoever we put out there is going to be able to get the job done."

Brown said he's been impressed by his new coaches, as well. After placing his name in the NCAA transfer portal after last season, Brown gave Spradlin and the new JMU staff the chance to share their vision for the Dukes going forward.

He was immediately sold.

"I knew this was the kind of group I wanted to be a part of," Brown said. "Coach P understands the heat of the job. He's done nothing but rise to the occasion. He's going to raise the standard. We're here to hang banners."

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